I was listening to a podcast about traveling. (I have become a fan of podcasts since I have been traveling) The people on the podcast were talking about things they have learned from traveling. I started thinking about some simple ways that I have changed in the short amount of time that I have been gone. And especially since I have been in Nepal. Nepal travel is much different than travel in South East Asia. Things seem so much easier in South East Asia. (At least for travelers. Many people in South East Asia have very, very difficult lives!)I might regret this blog post and it might be a bit too much information but I want to be honest!
Easy island living
My cleanliness standards have changed. In Nepal, it is too cold and too much work to shower daily. (At least for me!)
Feeling cold!
I barely poop. I think I should be drinking more water but when its cold, I tend not to drink as much. In Thailand it was hot, I drank a ton of water and I pooped daily. I don’t mind this lack of pooping though because pooping is more challenging with the squat toilet. And there is a serious lack of toilet paper.
Squat toilet in Thailand
I now smell my clothes and they don’t stink too bad, I keep wearing them. In fact, as I am writing this, I am realizing that I have not washed the socks that I am wearing for about four days. They are just starting to get a tiny bit smelly so I will wash them. In Saping, I have to wash everything by hand. So….Unless it is absolutely necessary, I will not be doing laundry that frequently. Also, my clothes don’t smell much because it is cold…at least that is what I think. (Maybe I am known as the smelly teacher!)
Driving to the laundromat used to seem like so much work!
As I was cooking breakfast this morning, I noticed a dead rat in a rat trap next to where I was cooking. I jumped, said a curse word and kept cooking my egg which I then ate (and enjoyed)! Even though I got over some of my fear of rat living in Wainiha (rural Kauai) I never in my life would have continued cooking next to a dead rat! I was informed that rats are healthy in Saping and I have nothing to worry about.
Our kitchen in Saping
I love eggs and sometimes I eat them at every meal. I don’t love eggs in the states. I only like my mother’s eggs because she has chickens and they are fresh. The eggs in Asia are so fresh and they are not refrigerated. Only people in America refrigerate their eggs and I think this is only because they are so old. By the time they get to the grocery stores, they have been all over the place.
Eggs by candlight in Kathmandu
Nepal teaches you to go with the flow and be patient. Power outages usually happen at least twice a day and can last hours. The internet in Nepal also encourages patience. I have not waited so long for something to load since AOL dial up.
Beautiful Saping
I have also started meditating, and continuing to develop my relationship with God….But all of that is way too serious for this post!
Love you, dear. When I was growing up, and before me, people took Saturday baths to be ready for church on Sunday. That was about it, although some families may have had hot water heaters (vs. heating bath water in a bucket on the stove), so it was easier for them
to have more baths. I think more bath tubs existed than showers. I washed my own underwear and socks in a basin of warm, soapy water when I was in grade school.
Love you!
ewwww! I like your rat story! Mel I trapped a rat in my HOUSE!!!! It was in the ceiling in the basement!! I bought a trap and put peanut butter on a cracker and the big fellow ate it! I then let him go down by the creek! What is the temperature there? Stay safe mel!
You are nice to let the rat go! Not sure about the temp but it is cold!